Andy Carroll’s injury woes continue after the West Ham striker injured his right foot in training on Monday.

In a statement on West Ham’s official website the club said: “Although it is in the same part of his foot as his previous injury, it is a new injury and therefore there will be no prognosis until he has seen a specialist.”

Carroll first injured the right foot in the final match of the 2012-13 season after he went down awkwardly. The diagnosis was a heel bone injury that was believed to keep the striker out of play through August. Recovery had taken longer than anticipated, however, and the 24 year old had yet to make an appearance this season.

The injury will serve to frustrate Carroll and West Ham after the player spent last year on loan with the East London club before joining permanently this summer in a deal worth $24 million (£15.5m), plus a further $3 million (£2m) in add-ons.

Given Carroll’s injury history, West Ham’s decision to purchase the striker always came with significant risk. Last year Carroll was only able to start 22 Premier League games after battling a hamstring injury sidelined him last fall and a knee injury shelved him for two months in the winter.

Carroll’s 2010-11 season was also hampered by injuries when a thigh tear kept him out for two months during the winter while a knee problem ruled him out of action in the spring. Two years before then, Carroll spent five months sidelined with an intraarticular ligament crack initiation of the ankle joint.

Carroll’s new setback means that Modibo Maiga will continue to lead the line for the Hammers. Unless Maiga starts scoring – he’s recorded only three shots in three matches – the heat will be on West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who was unable to land Demba Ba, Nicklas Bendtner and Romelu Lukaku on loan in the summer transfer market.

Making matters worse, the Hammers were primed to re-sign released forward Carlton Cole, but his inability to pass a medical means that Allardyce may have to bring an unregistered player to fill the ranks. Rumors now suggest that Croatian international Mladen Petric could be on his way to Upton Park.